“I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.” John 10:14-15

Lord Jesus,

You completed your assignment on the cross so long ago…but a depiction of you upon it reminds us of that woe, which you, Lord, suffered for us, taking there our place. You bore the punishment for our sins–providing amazing grace.

You went on to be raised up–then seated at your Father’s right hand. We’re seated with you, too, in heavenly places, glorious and grand. You stripped the devil of his authority through the way of the cross. Putting faith in what you did there is our gain; you brought about the devil’s loss.

We were crucified with Christ–when you were raised, so were we. Now we go and share the gospel, so that others may be set free. And we use our God-given authority which you, dear Lord, have given. Through you, we are victorious; we resist the devil and keep him driven.

The cross, an instrument of death, became the symbol of life. With it as your destination, you came down from heaven to a world of sin and strife. Thank you, Jesus, for what you did as God’s beloved, obedient Son. You are the way, the truth, and the life.  You’re this world’s Savior–the only One.

P. A. Oltrogge

“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:19-20 NKJV

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16-17

“Jesus *said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'” John 14:6

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” John 15:12-13 NKJV

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Galatians 2:20

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe.  These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand, in the heavenly places, FAR ABOVE all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.  And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”  Ephesians 1:18-23

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come, He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  Ephesians 2:4-10

“Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

“When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” Colossians 2:8-15 NLT

“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…” James 4:7-8

Scriptures: NASB or as noted